Can the call centre contribute to innovation? A multiple case study in service companies

Roberto Marx, Luis Henrique Rigato Vasconcellos and Felipe Ferreira De Lara

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2015, vol. 8, issue 3, 251-267

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to gain an insight into the contributions of call centre services to all innovation processes. To this end, a number of case studies were conducted and revealed that the companies adopt different call centre models based on distinct strategies. Some companies choose not to use a call centre in their innovation process, despite the fact that it could represent a channel for interaction with users while serving as a source of ideas for innovation. Our findings reveal that the strategy of not incorporating a call centre in the innovation process is strongly tied to the belief that it represents a cost centre. On the other hand, in some cases, the call centre plays a major role within the company's innovation process. The paper concludes with a proposal for an alternative call centre model oriented to take the best advantage for innovation efforts.

Keywords: innovation process; call centres; services; service industry; innovation management; user interaction; cost centres. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijbexc:v:8:y:2015:i:3:p:251-267

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